BACKGROUND MRI has proven to be an extremely valuable tool in the assessment of normal and pathological spinal anatomy. Accordingly, it is commonly used to assess containment of discal material by the outer fibers of the anulus fibrosus and posterior longitudinal ligaments. Determination of such containment is important to determine candidacy for intradiscal techniques and has prognostic signif...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT The intervertebral disc is a common source of low back pain (LBP). Prospective studies suggest that treatments that intermittently distract the disc might be beneficial for chronic LBP. Although the potential exists for distraction therapies to affect the disc biomechanically, their effect on intradiscal stress is debated. PURPOSE To determine if distraction alone, distract...

The transforaminal epidural injection (TFEI) has been preferred in many cases because it can deliver the injected dose of medication closer to the nerve root and better facilitate ventral epidural flow compared to other methods. However, in patients with deformities not demonstrated on fluoroscopic imaging, the needle may enter unwanted locations. We treated two cases of intradiscal injection o...

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a chronic pathologic process characterized by excessive apoptosis of intervertebral disc cells. The purpose of the current study was to detect the effect of integrin β1 on apoptosis of NP cells and IVD degeneration. Integrin β1 overexpressing lentivirus vector (LV-ITG β1) was constructed and transduced to NP cells, and its effect on cell apoptosis were ...